


The Child and the King

by Hexiva



Category: Marvel, Marvel 616, X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Murder, E is for Extinction (Marvel story arc), Gen, Genocide, Genosha, Parent Death, Revenge, Survivor Guilt, holocaust mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 13:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6081117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexiva/pseuds/Hexiva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young woman whose parents were executed by Magneto's order returns to Genosha to kill the Master of Magnetism. Events don't play out as she expected, and she finds herself the unwilling object of his sympathy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Child and the King

Denise had a sixth sense for mutants. In her mind, there was a map outlined in bright spots, each representing an individual mutant.

Just a few weeks ago, there had been a million lights centered around Genosha - an island of light in a sea of darkness. And then, one by one, in a matter of minutes, they had all gone dark. The news of the massacre didn't reach the US for nearly an hour, but Denise already knew.

She was no stranger to death, even before that. She was a refugee from Genosha, escaping the tyrannical reign of King Magnus. Thousands had not been as lucky as her; her parents included. They had died in the first purges after Magneto took over, killed for resisting his reign. Shot in front of Denise's eyes by order of King Magnus himself.

That was why she was here.

Denise stood on the edge of a cliff in the ruins of Genosha. The landscape around her was blasted and dead, but through her sixth sense, she could see a single mutant life sign, far beneath her in the canyon below. In her mind, he shone like a beacon, a terrible, malign glow. She could see how powerful he was, and she shuddered in dread. Was she about to meet the same fate as her parents?

It didn't matter. She swallowed and steeled her nerves. She was going to get revenge for her parents, no matter if she died in the attempt. In her pocket, her hand curled around the grip of a ceramic knife, and she pulled it out. No more waiting. No more planning. Today, she was going to kill Magneto.

She reached out in her mind for her second power, the one that had gotten her to Genosha in the first place. She vanished from the top of the cliff, and appeared silently behind Magneto.

This was it. Denise crept closer to Magneto. And then, in a burst of wild energy, she leapt at him.

Magneto whirled around the second before she hit him, as if he could sense her. His eyes widened in shock, and he threw up a hand. A blast of force hit Denise, tossing her back as if the very blood in her veins was being repelled. She went flying and smacked into the cliff behind her. The soft sandstone crumbled under the impact, and a chunk of broken stone hit her head. As her consciousness faded, the last thing she saw was Magneto looming over her.

When she woke up, the first thing she was aware of was a pounding headache. She groaned in pain and put a hand to her head.

"Ah, good," she heard a voice say. "I was beginning to worry you might never wake up."

Denise sat up, cradling her head in her hands. She felt a soft cloth bandage wrapped around her head. "What happened?" she asked. "Who are you?"

She heard a soft chuckle. "I'm afraid you were injured during your assassination attempt. As to who I am… Well. I think you already know that."

Denise slowly opened her eyes and turned her head towards her rescuer.

Magneto was sitting across from her. He was cross-legged in the dirt, stoking a campfire with a stick, and he looked almost laughably out of place in his brightly colored costume.

"Potato?" he offered. "They're almost done." He used the stick to poke at a handful of foil wrapped potatoes at the heart of the fire.

Denise started and scrambled back away from him. Her hand went to her pocket and closed on empty air.

"Looking for something?" Magneto asked without looking up. He picked up her ceramic knife from where it was sitting next to him, and tossed it over, sheath and all.

Denise grabbed it and drew the blade, clutching it desperately in her hand.

"A difficult weapon for a young girl," Magneto commented. "Very… visceral."

"What you want?" she demanded.

"I?" Magneto said, looking up. "I was under the impression that you wanted something from me. After all, you seem to have gone to great lengths to seek me out."

“I – I was going to kill you.” Her voice came out weak and uncertain, and she drew herself up, summoning the fury she had felt. “You killed my parents!”

Magneto lifted his eyebrows. "Did I? Who were they?"

"I - their names were Therese and Jason. Therese and Jason Dufort." Why was she answering his questions? Why was he _asking_ these questions?

Magneto's expression stayed blank. "I'm afraid I don't remember them, child."

Denise's lip curled. "Do you slaughter so many people that you can't even keep track of them?"

" Yes," Magneto told her, flatly.

His blank faced admission caught her off guard, and she wasn't sure how to respond. After a moment, Magneto asked, "What happened to them?"

"You had them shot for treason," Denise said bluntly. "For resisting your rule."

" Ahhhh," Magneto said, comprehending. "And now you're here to kill me, to avenge your parents. Well, then. Go ahead."

"What?" Denise blinked.

"Go ahead. Kill me. You have your knife. I won't fight you."

Denise stared at him. "Is this some kind of trick?" she asked, guardedly. "To goad me into attacking you?"

Magneto shook his head, amused. "No trick. If I wanted to hurt you, I would."

Denise got up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head, and walked slowly around the campfire to stand over him. He got up and faced her. He was more imposing in person than he had seemed in the photos, even in his garish red and purple costume. He towered over her, a block of muscle. His expression was impassive, calm.

"Why you doing this?" Denise demanded.

A slight frown crossed Magneto's face. He looked contemplative. "Because," he said, "I could never do what you are trying to do.”

Denise frowned, searching his face for some clue. “Kill yourself?”

Magneto gave her a wry little half-smile. “No. Take revenge.”

She didn't understand what he was playing at. It didn't matter. She wouldn't let his tricks stop her from completing her mission. She gripped the ceramic knife, and took a step closer. One strike, she thought, to his throat. Just like cutting meat. She lifted the knife.

Emotion welled up in her. Rage. Fear. Grief. Helplessness.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't do it.

She burst into tears and flung the knife down, stumbling away from Magneto and sinking to her knees. All her planning, all her effort, all her _rage,_ all of it for nothing, because she was too weak to do what needed to be done. Just a stupid little girl with a stupid little plan, thinking she could change the world. She was an idiot.

She curled up and sobbed, utterly miserable.

She didn't know how long she lay there, crying. It might have been hours. It didn't seem worth the effort to move; if Magneto wanted to kill her, he might as well get it over with.

Eventually, she cried herself to sleep, or at least a kind of miserable daze.

When she woke, it was night. There was a blanket draped over her, made out of some sort of strange, heavy cloth, and a fire crackling nearby. Her head still hurt, and she felt cold and empty inside.

“Good evening.”

She looked up to find Magneto sitting on the other side of the campfire, eating a potato. She stared at him blankly. After a minute, she said, “Where did you even find potatoes out here?”

A shadow passed over Magneto's face. “The agricultural regions are mostly intact. The Sentinels targeted population centers. Perhaps their masters wished to reclaim what's left of Genosha for themselves, after the slaughter.”

Denise didn't know what to say to that. “Who sent them?”

Magneto shook his head slowly. “It could have been any of the human governments. Mutantkind is not lacking for enemies. And neither am I.”

Denise sat there in silence. Magneto continued to eat. Both of them stared into the fire.

“Why haven't you killed me?” Denise asked, eventually.

Magneto glanced up and gave a surprised little laugh. “I don't particularly enjoy killing children, believe it or not. And I – well, I think I understand something of what brought you here today.”

Denise looked down at the blanket covering her. She realized that it was Magneto's cape. He must have draped it over her to keep her warm while she slept. And he'd bandaged her head, too. “Why?” she said.

Magneto didn't answer for awhile, slowly finishing his meal. Just when she thought he wasn't going to answer at all, he said, “When I was your age, I was a Sonderkommando. Carrying the bodies of the dead to the fires.” His tone was flat, empty of either grief or anger. “There were times when I could have struck back. When I could have slain my oppressors. I had a – an improvised weapon, just a scrap of metal. I could have cut the throat of the officer in charge.” He looked down. “I did not. Even in that extremity, I chose to live as a wretched slave rather than take even the slightest revenge against my captors. I was... weak.” His voice cracked on that last word, as if he was fighting back tears. “I admire your courage in coming here, Ms. Dufort. Mutantkind needs people like you.”

Denise's mind was a tangle of horror and pity and anger. “I'll never become like you.”

“No? I hope not.” He looked out over the blasted landscape surrounding them. “If what happened here has done nothing else, it has taught me that mutantkind does not need people like me. It never did.”


End file.
